The Beatles Anthology (film)
| The Beatles Anthology | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Music documentary |
| Written by | Bob Smeaton |
| Directed by | Geoff Wonfor Bob Smeaton |
| Starring |
John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Ringo Starr |
| Theme music composer |
The Beatles George Martin |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Neil Aspinall Chips Chipperfield |
| Running time | 11:23:24 |
| Distributor |
EMI Records Label: Apple Corps 07243 4 92969 9 2 |
| Release | |
| Original release | 19 November – 23 November 1995 |
The Beatles Anthology is a documentary series on the career of The Beatles. It was broadcast on UK television in six abridged parts between 19 and 23 November 1995, while in the United States it was seen as three feature-length episodes on ABC. An eight-volume VHS set and an eight-disc Laserdisc set were released on 5 September 1996. The series was re-released on DVD in 2003, with an 81-minute special-features disc.
An official documentary on The Beatles career had been in the pipeline as early as 1970. Long-time friend and Apple Corps manager Neil Aspinall had compiled footage of concert, interview, and television appearances from various sources around the world. From this archival footage, he assembled a 90-minute feature film which was tentatively titled The Long and Winding Road and was completed in 1971. At this point, none of the former members had any involvement with the project, and plans for its release lay dormant until 1980, when John Lennon made a statement as part of a legal deposition against the producers of the musical Beatlemania. "I and the other three former Beatles have plans to stage a reunion concert", he said, referring to an event that was to be filmed as a finale of The Long and Winding Road (which was now to be a television special).George Harrison watched the film on 10 April 1970, the day when the Beatles' break-up was announced. According to Yoko Ono, the concert would have been held in England: "Just days before his brutal death, John was making plans to go to England for a triumphant Beatles reunion. His greatest dream was to recreate the musical magic of the early years with Paul, George and Ringo … (he) felt that they had traveled different paths for long enough. He felt they had grown up and were mature enough to try writing and recording new songs." The alleged plan for a reunion was abandoned after Lennon was murdered on 8 December.
In 1992, the project was resurrected as a six-part documentary series. This time, the surviving members were directly involved, giving interviews on film with Jools Holland. Also interviewed were insiders Neil Aspinall, the band's press agent Derek Taylor, and their long-time producer George Martin. The title of the documentary was now changed to The Beatles Anthology, as George Harrison was against naming the entire Beatles career after a Paul McCartney song. This new title was to be a working one but it eventually stayed, as it suited the parties concerned.
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